At a review of the 2017 Presidential Transition on Tuesday, a Senior Research Fellow at the IEA, Dr. Michael Ofori Mensah, blamed the challenges that marred the transition process on institutional lapses.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8tJfqYlJGVlafCa4217fVQSOY3cKvx4v”]“…While the law spells out clearly that the presidential estate unit should carry out an inventory, this was not the case. We did have an issue where we saw more or less a duplication of roles. When the transition law was passed, it assumed that the presidential estate unit will take over the duties that were being performed by a unit called the prestige unit of the PWD, which looks after the presidential homes.”

“The Ministry of Works and Housing actually administers or looks after the Minister’s accommodation, but that assumption was perhaps false. There was a bit of turf guarding and so the Administrator General’ s office was effectively left out and did not have the means to carry out its statutory duty of taking inventory…”

He particularly identified the sale of government vehicles to outgoing functionaries, the brouhaha surrounding the post-office residence of President Mahama, the question of a vice presidential residence, and what he described as midnight decisions of the out gone administration, as consequences of institutional lapses in the transition process.

“While I must say former President Mahama did bring out a very brilliant directive, whereby he sought to stop the sale of houses and cars to the outgoing officials , this u-turn that was performed was quite most unfortunate at the time with the transition, which saw again the sale of cars to outgoing officials, and I believe that brought us back  to 2009 to 2011, and more or less together with the Administrator General being under-resourced did come together to cause a few problems in the transition.”

“ If the Administrator General had been resourced to do his job, and had been in control of the presidential estate, I think it will not be the prerogative of an outgoing administration or an incoming administration to decide who gets what. That will be the decision of the Administrator General and that is what contributed to the saga.”

Presenting the IEA’s position paper,  Dr.  Ofori Mensah called for a second look at the policy on the sale of government vehicles to outgoing functionaries.

Meanwhile, a former Minister of State and MP for Wa central, Rashid Pelpuo, said President Mahama was moved by the sympathies for his outgoing functionaries, to allow them buy off their official vehicles.

He said President Mahama had taken an earlier decision against the practice but was moved by the concerns of his appointees in the dying days of his administration to allow them purchase the vehicles.

Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo, however called for a strengthening of the legal framework to ensure that transitions happen according to law.

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By: Sixtus Dong Ullo & Marian Ansah /citifmonline.com/Ghana

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This follows the swearing-in of the President on Saturday, January 7, 2017.

Presenting the final report to the President, the Head of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) side of the team, Mr. Osafo Marfo, said “We are privileged to engage you in your first day of office. I have with me the transition team and the heads of the various sectors of the economy to present the interim report of the transition team. On behalf of the transition team I have 24 sector reports, which covers all the sectors of the economy. And this is the interim report. I want to hand over the number one on the list, symbolic of the rest which is the economy; finance…On behalf of the transition team and on behalf of the sector leaders, your excellency may I please hand over to you.”

NDC members fail to show up

But President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo  was not unhappy that only his side of the transition team, did the representation.

“First of all, thank you very much indeed because this is my first day here, the sooner I get briefed on the important matters that confront the government the better. But the transition team by my understanding consists of two groups, both us and members of the former government; but the faces I see here are all faces of the New Patriotic Party people. I don’t understand because my understanding is that the transition teams incorporate two groups,”  the President complained.

Former President Mahama inaugurated the transition team on December 11, 2016, to facilitate the change of government after the Electoral Commission declared Nana Addo as winner of the keenly contested general election on December 7, 2016.

The team is to officially complete its work on the 3^rd of February 2017, and will present its final report around the 10^th of February.

Mr. Osafo Marfo explained that, the team is “still on the work because there are few matters to be sorted out.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Transition team presents interim report to Prez. Akufo-Addo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Prof. Gyampoh explained that, the office of Administrator General, which is critical to overseeing the transition process, is in dire need of resources to execute its mandate under the amended Presidential Transitional Act.

[contextly_sidebar id=”CQAshzANN7ca8TsqmbbHbbfOTcHYH8OD”]“In the law, there is a time period that he is supposed to go, take an audit of assets of the state, those at the presidency, those at the ministry departments and agencies, and then document them and all that,” Prof. Gyampoh said of the Administrator General to Citi News.

He however added that “you speak to him and he is helpless because he has a problem with office space, he has no vehicle, he as no serious staff working with him; and he suffers logistical challenges that will enable him to work.”

Until the enactment of the Presidential Transition Act, 2012 (Act 845), there was no legal blueprint that governed the transition of political power in the country.

Before the enactment of the Law, transitions in the country had been characterised by administrative lapses, forced evictions and seizure of vehicles.

But Prof. Gyampoh warned that “at the end of the day, we have a fine blueprint called the Presidential Transition Act, but it lacks the Administrator General who would be the key official to push the process and to ensure the full implementation of the Act.”

The transition process began on Sunday after a team was inaugurated by President John Mahama.

President Mahama on Saturday announced the 16-member team comprising seven members of the National Democratic Congress government and nine from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who will be leading next government.

The team also includes the Head of the Civil Service, Head of the Local Government Service, Secretary to the Cabinet and the National Security Coordinator in accordance with the provisions of the Presidential Transition Act 2012 (Act 845).

The team is expected to commence work ahead of the of the official swearing-in of the President-elect, Nana Akufo Addo as President of the Republic on January 7, 2017.

Members of the team area:

1. Julius Debrah- Chief of Staff
2. Marietta Brew Appiah Opong- Attorney General & Minister for Justice
3. Seth E. Terkper- Minister for Finance
4. Prosper Bani- Minister for the Interior
5. Dr. Benjamin Kunbour- Minister for Defence
6. Hanna S. Tetteh- Minister for Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration
7. Alhaji Collins Dauda- Minister for Local Government & Rural Development

Representing the President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo are:

1. Yaw Osafo Maafo- Representative of the President-elect
2. Frema Osei Opare- Head of the Staff of Office of the President-elect
3. Gloria Akuffo- Member responsible for Legal Affairs
4. Ken Ofori- Atta- Member responsible for Finance
5. Ambrose Dery- Member responsible for the Interior
6. Dominic Nitiwul- Member responsible for Defence
7. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey- Member responsible for Foreign Affairs
8. Hajia Alima Mahama- Member responsible for Local Government
9. Albert Kan Dapaah- Member responsible for National Security

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Transition process will face several challenges – Gyampoh warns appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.